Colloquial
by Katraa
Summary: swim team was so much better in the fall.  especially for two lovesick teenage boys ... [sora x kairi] [riku x sora]


Happy Birthday to the lovely Eternamente! I managed to produce this in two days time (oh the wonders of short notice). I hope you enjoy it, darling. I love you haha. In that so non-stalkerish ... sisterly...way. Ahem. Anyhow, this is another long oneshot and it features a semi citrus. Oh, and be warned. There's some one-sided het. But there is RikuSora so stay tuned.

* * *

_Colloquial  
_**for** : eternamente  
xxxx.**x**.xxxx

The cool water engulfed his tired form. The waves pushed against his body, propelling him forward with tremendous force. The male could no longer see- his eyes were tightly shut to block out the water. Hands frantically lurched forward, digging into the water as he swam on at magnificent speeds. Fingertips dove into the surface of the water as he did such, making a shudder fly down his spine. Just a bit farther. Feet kicked back in time with the flailing arms, making the male form progress farther in the clear water.

A ringing of a loud bell sliced through the air, sounding the end of the race. It was done. No more swimming. No more groaning.

The silver haired male's hands made contact with the cement wall when the bell had rung. At once, his body lurched up into a somewhat standing position as he floated next to the side of the pool, recapturing his breath. With a few deep breaths, the tall teenager dragged his dripping body out of the large high school swimming pool and onto the cold ground. A rush of shivers followed. Stupid cold water meeting air.

"Riku!"

The silveret twisted his head to the side, only to be met with a jovial brunet nearly pouncing him to the ground. With a groan, Riku avoided the deathly situation and shifted a bit to the right so that the brunet wouldn't tackle him. Riku rose his hand to his hair, his fingers threading through the wet strands in vain.

"We won!" the brunet declared excitedly. The teenager, who was considerably shorter than Riku, plastered a large grin onto his lips as he stared up at the silveret. "I can't believe we're going to the state finals!"

"Well, we do have the best swim team in our division," the silver haired teen replied, placing a hand onto his hip. He quickly removed said hand, acting as if it had been burnt. Right. Guys don't do that. _Right_.

"This is the first time _ever_ that we made it to finals, Riku! And it's all because of you!" the brunet chimed happily as his arms reached out and pulled the taller teenager in for a hug. Their wet bodies met somewhere in the mix with a slurp sort of noise.

* * *

◘ … _**Pause . . .**_

Stop right there. _Right_ there. You see, that was the single most tempting moment of my entire _life_. And I blame it all on _Sora_. Even someone as dense as _him_ should know _not_ to tackle your best _guy_ friend when they're dripping wet, in _swimming trunks_. Sora just didn't get the precautions you _needed_ to live by. Sora was always happy and beautiful and- I'm getting sidetracked from the main issue, aren't I?

Sora and I had been best friends since first grade. Sora came from the east side of the town, and I came from the west. Now, don't jump to conclusions. We weren't one of those gang towns. Not at all. In fact, our town is pretty nice and upbeat. Besides that, we met in first grade and became close friends.

In eighth grade, I realized that my eyes always lingered on Sora whenever I was around him. And don't blame me! His hips were more curved than the _girls_ were. It was hard _not_ to get caught staring, but I managed. I mean, it didn't mean anything. I was just _observing_ natural beauty.

In ninth grade, I confessed to myself that I was crushing on Sora. It hurt to say that, and I was in denial for a long period of time. I remember one day I would admit it, then the next I'd be in denial. I'm surprised it didn't do a number on my health.

Now I know what you're thinking, "_Ew, he likes his best friend. He's going to end up telling him and they're going to have a cheesy cliché romantic ending_." Am I right? Well, no, you're wrong. You see, I was never a person to date anyone. I just don't enjoy it. I'd rather hang out with Kairi and Sora.

Right, Kairi. She's our other best friend. We met her in seventh grade. We've been _best_ friends ever since. And they say that trios are dangerous. Hah.

Well … in all honesty, I'm usually the quiet one of the group, only offering advice when asked upon. It's seldom that I say something offhandedly. I just prefer maturity. Though, that's hard when you're around _Sora_ all the time.

Well, regardless, I'm _not_ telling him. I'll just fall for someone else and I'll sooner or later forget about my feeling for him. Until then … he's putting me through _hell _with all these random stunts!

Eh… anyway…

* * *

► … _**Play . . .**_

A rush of color spread across the silver haired male's cheeks at once. Surprisingly, the teenager did well at hiding it, at once shoving the brunet off of him. "Sora, stop being so touchy," grumbled the male, rolling his sea-green eyes at his blue-eyed, best friend.

A laugh came from the shorter boy as he care freely crossed his arms to his chest. His bottom lip protruded seconds later as their swim team celebrated a few feet away from them, the crowd still cheering. "Come on, Riku. Be happy! We won!" Sora exclaimed, that smile soon returning.

"I am happy," Riku countered in a calm tone that contradicted his statement.

Sora narrowed his eyes playfully at his friend. "Really? You sound kind of grumpy to me," Sora teased as water dripped from the ends of his brown spikes. For someone as short and skinny as Sora, he had a wonderfully built body. Not as much muscle as his taller friend, but it wasn't fat either. It was, well, _nice_.

"I'm not grumpy," Riku countered, sighing. "I'm just a bit tired. I stayed up all night studying for that Chemistry test," he explained at random.

"Ah, I see," Sora said with an oddly placed giggle. "Do you think you passed it?"

"Probably," Riku answered as he began walking, motioning for Sora to follow him. The brunet gladly did such. "Do you have any plans for this weekend?" Riku asked, craning his next to the side to stare at the brunet boy.

Sora appeared contemplative. "Well, on Sunday I'm going with Kairi to see a movie."

Riku blinked. "A date?" he questioned in monotone, his voice concealing so much.

"I suppose," Sora answered with a shrug, water beads falling from his wet skin. "I mean, she really wants to go on a date, and she's like… my best friend and I don't want to say no and hurt her, you know? Because she's really nice and I want to stay friends and argh! Am I doing the right thing, Riku?"

Riku bit his bottom lip and vaguely shrugged. "It's really up to you. If you're not interested in her, then tell her. But I don't see why you both can't go to the movies as friends." Inside, though, his heart was clenching at the idea of Kairi and Sora being _alone_, without _him_, making _him_ the third wheel. Kairi, their best friend, with Sora… with _his_ Sora.

"I just don't think it'd work. We've been friends for _too_ long!" Sora noted dramatically, throwing his arms up in the air to tug at his brown spikes.

Riku appeared a bit hurt at the moment for _obvious_ reasons. "You'd never date your friends?" Riku asked, an eyebrow arching.

"I guess?… It's just with Kairi… it's different. I mean, when I first met her I thought maybe it'd be nice to hold her hand and hug her and kiss her… but now it just feels like it'd be weird to do that," Sora said with a strained laugh. "She's my best friend. I don't anything more than that."

"Ah…I see," Riku murmured as they entered the locker room.

"Besides! I don't even what to do on a date!" Sora groaned in despair as he pranced over to his locker. Once there, the brunet fiddled with his combination to open it. Riku stood a row away from Sora, periodically glancing over his shoulder at the brunet who had his back turned to him.

"Talk…. Sit… that sort of stuff," Riku mumbled as he changed back into his normal clothes- jeans and a t-shirt.

"How boring… I always do that stuff with you and Kairi as it is," Sora answered with a puzzled frown. "Does that mean we've gone on dates before?" How naïve.

Riku rolled his eyes and shut his locker before making his way back over to Sora who had just managed to get his shorts on. "Sora, people that go on dates hold each other's hands and make out. Have we ever done that?" Riku asked in such a calm tone that it frightened the shorter.

"Uh… unless I'm forgetting something, no," Sora said with a nervous laugh. The teen flashed his best friend a bright smile before slipping his black shirt on.

Riku chuckled a bit. "Hey, how about we spend this weekend together? You know, before you and Kairi's _big date_."

Sora rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Riku. "Sure, whatever, Ri-ku."

* * *

◘ … _**Pause . . .**_

Let's just fast forward to the next day… you'll see what I have to put up with …

* * *

→ … _**Fast Forward **_. . . 

Saturday turned out to be your typical autumn day. Leaves fell joyfully down from their branches, scattering aimlessly along the ground. Riku had always loved the fall. He wasn't sure if it was the vibrant colors or just the perfect weather, or the random activities Sora and he usually ended up doing. Like today, for example. Today was going to be a _grand_ day, Riku just knew it. It would start with raking their neighbor's leaves, then go on to the pumpkin field (Sora's mother always requested that the pair pick her out the largest pumpkin they could find, along with a gallon of apple cider), and then finally they would return for a night of Halloween movies. It was perfection. It was _simple_.

Riku stared blankly as Sora fought with the pile of leaves he had raked. Apparently the brunet was having issues getting the leaves _off_ the rake and _into_ the pile. The brunet frowned, his arms reaching out to pick the yellow and brown and red leaves off. "Stupid leaves," Sora murmured as he proceeded to kick the pile.

"This is what, the tenth year we've done this and you _still_ can't rake?" Riku asked, his voice drenching in a teasing tone.

Sora narrowed his eyes and threw the rake down onto the cold ground. "You know what, Riku? Shut up! I just… The leaves just don't like me, that's all!" the brunet declared, crossing his arms to his chest. He then proceeded to pout.

"…You'd think by now you'd have mastered the technique," Riku stated as he neatly raked a bunch of leaves into his own pile. And it looked _so_ orderly compared to Sora's.

"We get paid… what? Five bucks an hour each? So we barely make twenty bucks combined! What a rip off!" Sora declared with a laugh.

"When we were younger it seemed like a lot," Riku pointed out as he continued raking, his silver hair pooling over his shoulders. Today he wore faded blue jeans with a dark grey, zipper up shirt that snuggly fit his torso, accenting it wonderfully.

"I know," Sora agreed and stared dejectedly down at his pile. "But this is a tradition, I suppose."

"That it is," Riku answered, a gentle breeze rushing by. The silver haired teen's shirt lightly rode up, exposing more of his stomach than before. Sora's eyes caught this and the brunet quickly looked away as the breeze died down.

"You know what else is a tradition, Ri-ku?" Sora asked, a smirk suddenly appearing on his lips. Oh the wonders of changing the subject of your mind!

"What?" Riku questioned, pausing his work to stare over at his friend.

Without a word, Sora grinned widely. Riku paled, suddenly realizing what was coming _before_ it happened. Without warning, Sora plunged into his own pile of leaves, sending them fluttering away in every which direction. The brunet giggled loudly as the leaves glided up in the air and then slowly back down, landing on him and around him. Blue eyes shimmered seconds after.

"You know you're going to have to clean that up," Riku said as he set down his rake. The silveret walked over to Sora, standing next to the brunet. Sora was sprawled out on the ground, on his back, attempting to make 'leaf angels', but failing miserably.

"You have to admit, that was pretty cool," Sora said, grinning up at his friend.

"Maybe when we were younger," Riku answered with a shrug.

"You're so serious all the time," Sora said with a pout. A moment of silence passed between the pair before Sora grinned once again. Riku arched an eyebrow, wondering what_ this_ grin meant. Without warning, once again, Riku's arm was suddenly latched onto. Seconds after, the teen was yanked down into the pile of leaves. How Sora managed to pull Riku off his feet and onto the ground remained a mystery.

"Sora!" Riku yelped, landing beside the brunet in the pile. Leaves at once flew into the air again around the two boys. Riku's arm lay haphazardly across Sora's chest, having flown there when he lost his balance and fell (it was Sora's fault for that).

"I didn't want to be the only one having fun," Sora said with a childish.

Riku groaned and shifted so that he was laying on his back beside the brunet. The male quickly withdrew his arm when he realized that it was over Sora's body. Invisible heat rose in Riku's cheeks as he stared up at the cloudy sky above them. Who would have thought they'd end up laying beside one another in a pile of leaves? It was just so weird yet so peaceful.

"Isn't this nice?" Sora asked in a quiet voice, eyes scanning the sky.

"It is," Riku murmured back, sea-green eyes peacefully shifting from the sky and over to Sora. "Maybe if we lay here long enough, we'll get more money."

Sora laughed loudly at that one. "I wish. I wish."

* * *

→ … _**Fast Forward **_. . . 

"Here."

Riku passed Sora his jacket. The black one with the orange school emblem and name written on it. The silver haired male glanced around the pumpkin patch as the sun set, waiting for Sora to put on the coat. Sora graciously did such, snuggling into the warmth of Riku's jacket. "Thanks, Riku!" Sora chimed as he hurried to catch up to where Riku was.

The brunet glanced around the darkening area with a frown. "Have you seen any big ones?" the teenager asked.

"Nope," Riku answered automatically as he pocketed his hands. "I saw a medium sized one, though. I suppose that'll do. Just tell your mom that they came small this year," Riku explained.

Sora briefly nodded and weaved through the dirt path that ran through the middle of the pumpkin patch. The sunset was visible in the distance, just adding to the overall autumn feeling of the expansive area. Beside Sora was Riku, whose gaze never once lifted from the horizon. The way the colors blended so perfectly was simply amazing.

"Do you think my mom will make us her famous hot apple cider spice?" Sora asked.

Riku looked to his left at Sora. "She always does during our movie-a-thon."

Sora grinned. "Mhm!"

Riku left Sora's side briefly to collect a rather large pumpkin. When he returned with the orange, round object in his hands, Sora's grin grew. "I knew there was a large one here!" the brunet exclaimed happily, latching onto Riku's arm with his hand. The brunet didn't even _notice_ the color change in Riku's face. Even if he did, he'd blame it on the weather.

"It's sort of funny," Riku said as they walked back down the path, towards the small shack where they could pay for the pumpkin.

"What is?" Sora asked, his hand never once dropping from Riku's arm.

"We've been doing this since first grade and things haven't changed at all," Riku answered with the faintest of smiles on his lips. This caused Sora to instantly gasp, pointing with his free hand at Riku's facial expression.

"You just smiled!" Sora said with a playful smirk. "You like, never smile!" And honestly, it was the truth.

"You make me sound like scrooge," said Riku with an exasperated sigh. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"Nope!" Sora answered and lead the pair closer to their destination. "You're just Riku. And that means you're amazing all around!" Sora declared with a swift nod directed at his taller friend. "My best friend forever!" he added on in a bad singing voice. Riku laughed and just continued walking beside Sora. Fall nights were always so _fun_ when he was with Sora.

* * *

→ … _**Fast Forward **_. . . 

Riku was resting, on his stomach, on the floor in front of the television, beside Sora, when the telephone rang. The two males exchanged curious glances before Riku offered to answer it. Sora smiled graciously and went back to watching the horror movie, still clutching a pillow tightly in his slender arms.

Riku scuffled over to the ringing telephone and brought it into the hallway so that he could hear. With a flick of his wrist, he answered it. "Hello?' he questioned.

"Riku? Hi!"

"Hey, Kairi," Riku said softly, leaning against the wall. "How was your day?" he asked casually, peering back into the room at the beautiful brunet who laid there.

"Good," Kairi answered with a laugh. "Grandma brought me up to go on a hay ride. It was amazing. Then I went shopping with Selphie. You and Sora should have been there. It was _insane_."

"I bet it was," Riku said with a laugh, rolling his eyes.

"What'd you two do all day? Hmmmm?" she asked with a teasing tone apparent in her cheery voice.

"The usual. Sora failing at raking leaves, picking pumpkins, movies," Riku explained and then paused. "Wait, you called to talk to Sora, right?"

"That's the idea," replied Kairi with a giggle. "But it's always nice to talk to you too!"

"Sure it is," Riku teased and then walked into the living room, phone in hand. "Sora, it's for you. It's Kairi," he explained as he took a seat beside Sora. Sora nodded and arose from his seat and dragged his body into the kitchen, out of hearing range.

For some reason, the distance made Riku scowl at the television. Curiosity got the best of the male as he arose from his placement on the rug and sauntered over to the far wall, nearest the kitchen, to _pointedly_ eavesdrop on his best friends' conversation.

"Yeah, we're still on for tomorrow," Riku heard Sora inform the red-head. "Huh?… Oh yeah… I'll pay, don't worry about it. I mean, it is a date and I don't want to be rude!" A pause. "Noo! I'll pay for that too! Stop trying to be tough, Kairi!" Riku frowned. "Hah… Yeah, I know."

Riku had to admit, Sora always smiled _so_ much when he spoke to the red-head. Well, it was natural. They were best friends, right? And Kairi was a beautiful girl and Sora was a handsome guy. It made sense, didn't it? Why go against blatant logic?

"Whatever you want to see, I don't mind," Sora said into the phone. "Yeah… I'll get my mom to pick you up at six so we can be there by seven." A pause. "Mhm. I'll see you tomorrow, bye Kairi!"

For someone who really didn't want to go on a date, Sora seemed _pretty_ eager.

Riku sighed and made his way back over to the floor. The silver haired male sat down and stared dejectedly at the image displayed on it. Suddenly today didn't seem so great after all.

"Riku, I'm doomed!"

Sora stomped back into the living room and promptly draped his arms around his best friend's neck from behind. The brunet eased himself into a sitting position and rested his face against the back of Riku's soft hair. "She's going to expect me to kiss her, Riku! I…I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Riku murmured, his body tensing from Sora being so damn _close_.

"Because I've never kissed anyone before! I just…I don't want to hurt you! I already said this! I don't know what to do, Rikuuu!" Sora moaned in despair as his arms fell from around Riku's neck altogether.

"Tell her the truth?" Riku suggested as Sora inched his way across the carpet so that they were sitting across from one another, the movie easily forgotten.

"You don't realize what it's like to have to tell someone something _this_ dramatic!" Sora whined and yanked at his brown hair. "Kairi and I've been friends for a long time and I don't want to screw up our friendship over her feelings! I mean, I just don't want her hating me!"

"Sora, I understand," Riku said cautiously, reaching out to pull Sora's hand away from his hair.

"I mean! I can't kiss her when I'm practically in love with somebody else!" he hollered.

Sora suddenly slapped his hand over his mouth, his cheeks turning a scorching red. Blue eyes widened as he stared at Riku who appeared just as shocked as Sora. Neither said anything for a long moment. "You're in love?" Riku asked, breaking the unnerving silence.

"I…don't know… I'm confused…I looked up what love meant in the dictionary, you know, because no one could really give me a good explanation…and all my symptoms match," he murmured and looked down at the ground, cheeks hot to the touch.

"Aww, my little Sora's in love," Riku said in a mock baby voice. The teen reached out to ruffle Sora's hair. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"No one…"

"Sora, it has to be someone," Riku said sternly, arching an eyebrow. "If it's not Kairi, then who? Selphie?"

"No…"

"Tifa?"

"Uh, no," Sora muttered, eyes still glued to the floor as his stomach made noises due to nerves.

"Is it-"

"Riku! It's not a girl!" Riku stared blankly at Sora who suddenly looked incredibly pale and horror-stricken. "I… I mean that it's…I uh…!" Sora rambled and then buried his face into his hands, wanting to just cry. He didn't mean for that to slip, honestly he didn't. Sora had never been good at keeping secrets.

"You like a guy?" Riku asked cautiously, his hand reaching out to yank Sora's hand away.

Tears clouded Sora's eyes. Fear and rejection resided in them. "I didn't want to tell you because you'd hate me for liking a guy. You're so amazing so I figured you would be homophobic like-"

"I'm not," Riku answered sternly. "_Far_ from it." He left it at that.

"So you… don't hate me, right?" Sora sniffled, refusing to make eye-contact with his best friend.

"Of course not. Best friends tell each other things. Why would I be mad at you for confiding in me?" Riku wondered as he reached out and gently ran his hand through Sora's hair, trying to comfort the shorter teen. "I'm sure if it was meant to be, it'll work out. Just don't lose faith in him, okay?"

Sora nodded, suppressing another sob. "O…kay, Riku."

The rest of the night was just as shaky.

* * *

→ … _**Fast Forward **_. . . 

Sora didn't understand it at all. One moment he was talking and laughing with Kairi about the previews, and the next thing he knew her hand was tightly interlaced with his. True, the warm hand felt nice in his (almost as nice as Riku's jacket had felt at the pumpkin patch…), but it felt off. Like he was holding his sister's hand. It didn't feel wrong. It just felt like the other kind of right. The brotherly and sisterly kind of right, and Sora knew that right off the bat.

Kairi contently leaned her head against Sora's shoulder halfway through the movie. A happy hum passed her lips as her fingers squeezed Sora's hand, refusing to let go. She was happy, wasn't she? Aren't best friends supposed to make the other one happy?… Sora had never _seen_ Kairi this happy before, so who was he to destroy that?

One moment Sora was staring up at the screen, watching the action adventure film with a grin and the next moment his lips were tightly pressed against Kairi's. He assumed she had been the one to lean in.

He could vaguely taste the lip gloss on her cheery lips. He could feel her lips shaking upon his. He could feel her breathing through her nose. In out. In out. He could feel her hand sliding shyly onto his shoulder while she kept her other tightly interwoven with Sora's. Best friends. That's what they were. Best friends didn't kiss and just remain _best friends_. Something had to make or break.

Kairi remained connected to his lips for quite some time, her cheeks on fire. Sora didn't have the heart to pull away or deepen the kiss. He just sat there in complete stun, his lips not moving whatsoever. But a kiss was a kiss, and if he didn't pull away Kairi had all the right to kiss him, right?

And Sora came to the conclusion that Kairi really, truly _did_ like him because as time went on, her kisses became more desperate as she leaned lightly out of her seat, adding more pressure into the kiss. She _wanted_ him to press back. She wanted him to deepen it and run his hands nervously along her body. But all she got was a silent and motionless Sora.

She took the hint.

The red-head pulled away, their lips separating with a wet sound. Kairi looked back to the movie, her hand weakly still clasped in Sora's. She didn't feel like crying, nor did she feel like smiling. It was a win and lose situation. She hadn't lost Sora as a best friend, but she had lost him as a potential boyfriend. He didn't like her. She had to accept that.

What else was there _to_ do?

* * *

→ … _**Fast Forward **_. . . 

Sora couldn't keep the unrequited kiss off his mind. Were kisses always that normal feeling? It didn't feel as exciting as everyone had claimed it did. Sora sighed miserably, mentally of course, and waved to Kairi as she left the school building the next day, Monday.

Riku and Sora had swim practice, and Sora was determined to talk to Riku about this, even if it killed him in the process.

So there Sora sat, on the bench in the boy's locker room, staring down at the tiled floor dejectedly with a glass of apple cider in his hand. The taste of fall. Why didn't it taste as good as it usually did? Was love and broken crushes the cause of his depression? Sora didn't know, nor did he bother to figure it out. Right now all he wanted was some answers to his complex questions.

"You look down, what's wrong?"

As if on cue, Riku took a seat beside Sora, staring at the brunet with concern. Those aquamarine eyes watched Sora curiously, worry for his best friend drenched in them. All remained silent for a few moments before Sora looked to Riku, confusion and tears filling his usually bright blue eyes. "She kissed me," he stated simply.

Something was torn apart inside of Riku. "Did she?" Riku countered, trying to mask the disappointment in his voice.

"She kissed me for what felt like forever," Sora went on to say. "She held my hand. She wanted more…. And I just sat there like a jerk. I didn't even kiss her back. I just sat there, letting her do whatever she wanted. I figured that'd make her happy, but the look on her face when we left killed me inside, Riku."

Riku frowned. "Sora, you should have just pulled away if you didn't-"

"Riku, you don't understand! I couldn't hurt her! I can't hurt anyone! I just… I didn't know exactly what I was thinking," Sora admitted as he shook lightly. Whether it was from his lack of clothing or nerves, he did not know.

"Hey, cheer up, Sora," Riku said as he lightly placed his hand under Sora's chin, tilting the boy's head up. "At least you guys are still friends. You two seemed like normal today."

"Yeah," Sora replied thankfully, nodding. "I just… feel so bad."

"Don't," Riku answered and dropped his hand. "But I'm glad you didn't kiss back. You're really only supposed to kiss back if it's something you really you want."

"I'll remember that," Sora said as he got to his feet, extending his hand to his best friend of ten years. "Let's go practice. I want to swim off some of my thoughts.

"Sounds good, my little fish," Riku said with a smirk as he took the hand and lead Sora back out to the pool, understanding rushing through his veins.

It was just like any other fall. The leaves fell, and Sora and Riku remained best friends. Fall was so beautiful, just like Sora. Fall meant time together. Fall meant understanding and learning. Fall meant so many things… but Sora never knew it meant _falling in love_.

* * *

→ … _**Fast Forward **_. . . 

Sora watched in awe at the final race of the finals. In his hand, tightly clenched, was a cup of hot apple cider (his mother's specialty, of course). The brunet watched eagerly from the benches as Riku and the opposing team member made their way to the edge of the water. Both looked pensive and determined to come out victorious. The teams were tied. Whoever won this won it all.

Sora couldn't help it. He let out a cheer for his best friend, his lips never once falling out of their smile formation. Riku smirked back, winking at the brunet before getting ready for the race. Sora's heart swelled the slightest as he sat back down.

The race itself was amazing. Perhaps that was another thing Sora loved most about Fall. For the past two years, Riku and he had been on the swim team together during the fall, just adding to the overall fun they had with one another. Maybe that was it. Or maybe it was the lack of clothing and display of Riku's body that made the sport so endearing. Sora wouldn't admit which was the main reason. At least not out loud.

When Riku came out victorious, having beaten Fitch by just two seconds, Sora let out a load roar of triumphant, along with his section. Sora placed his cup carefully on the bench and ran over with his team to congratulate their silver haired member on a job well done.

Sora waited patiently for the crowd to die down around Riku before tightly hugging the other. The brunet rested his head against Riku's chest, singing words of praise about his friend all the while.

"You're so clingy," Riku murmured, cheeks a light tinge of red. It was… that scenario, again.

"You're soaked," Sora noted, pointing out the obvious with a giggle. The brunet's gaze darted over to the team celebrating with the crowd. An idea struck and Sora snagged Riku's wrist, dragging the other into the locker's room that were currently being ignored.

Riku dragged along behind Sora, confused as to why the brunet wanted to get changed so fast.

When they entered the room, Sora let out a loud cheer. "You're so amazing!" he stated in a holler, hugging Riku again. "We won because of _you_," he sang happily.

"Heh. I know. You've told me a million times already, Sora," Riku answered, his arms wrapping around the brunet upon instinct.

"So amazing," Sora sighed happily, his cheek pressing against Riku's chest. "I wish I could be like you," Sora admitted into his best friend's chest.

Riku gave up trying to hide his blush. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, I mean… you've got everything. Talent… Intelligence… Beauty….Attitude…" Sora trailed off and nuzzled Riku's chest, almost a bit sadly. "I have none of that. I _barely_ have any of it."

"What makes you think I have everything?" Riku questioned, fingers lightly raking through Sora's hair. It was still wet from Sora's earlier race. Go figure.

"Well, what _don't_ you have, then?" Sora asked challengingly as he pulled his head away from Riku's chest, staring up at the silver haired male. That was a bad idea from the start, Sora realized. Riku looked downright _stunning_ when he was dripping wet. His ghostly aquamarine eyes stared back into blue ones, capturing Sora's soul immediately. Along with his breath, of course.

"A boyfriend," Riku said simply.

"B-boyfriend?" Sora stuttered. "You… You?…"

"No shit," Riku answered and chuckled. "There's a _reason_ I'm on the swim team, moron."

Sora blushed a dark red and stared down at his feet. "To stare at all the guys on our team, Riku? That's kind of embarrassing, don't you think? I mean….what if they caught you staring at them?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "I'm not staring at them."

"But you-" Sora argued, confusing leaking into the burnet. "You make no sense."

Riku rolled his eyes again and tightened his hold around Sora. "I didn't join to stare at all the guys on our team half naked. I joined to spend time with you."

"Oh…" Sora laughed and was about to answer with an apology but was cut short when Riku whispered into his ear, "and to stare at _you_."

Sora felt his whole body shudder as he stared at Riku with confusion. His brows furrowed. "M-me? Why me? I'm a twig… I don't have a six pack! I'm skinny and pathetic and I'm ugly and-"

"You obviously are the dumbest person alive," Riku said, with love, of course. He smiled down at Sora before nervously looking away. Hesitation flared in Riku's eyes. He had dreamt of kissing Sora. He had dreamt of having Sora, almost completely naked, in his arms. God, he had dreamt of this so much. But now he was afraid to go through with his confession. It was human. How people so easily did this… Riku wasn't sure.

"Uhm…" Sora looked at Riku for a long while. Cautiously, the brunet leaned up on his toes and pressed his lips against Riku's cheek. A surge of warm spread through both boys at once. Sora's eyes widened and he laughed apprehensively, looking away as well. The brunet was vaguely aware of Riku pulling their bodies flush against one another. However, Sora was _well_ aware of the fact that he could feel every single curve and dip in Riku's body all of a sudden.

"I know you said you'd never date your best friend, but can you at least kiss him?" Riku asked, and then blinked and cringed when he realized _just_ what he had said. Riku exhaled sharply seconds afterwards.

"Riku," Sora said happily all of a sudden. Riku jerked his head back to stare at Sora. The silveret was about to ask a question but was silenced when he felt Sora's warm, wet lips ascending upon his own.

Riku stood there for a few moments, feeling Sora's lips shyly mesh up against his, rolling back and forth as the brunet's arms slid around his neck, yanking Riku's lips down to meet his once again. It took Riku exactly ten seconds to process what was going on. When he did, he moaned gently into the kiss, lips returning the chaste kiss with a growing fervor.

Sora blushed intensely upon knowing what a requited kiss felt like. God, it felt so wonderful. Sora arched lightly into the kiss, hungrily kissing Riku's lips. After awhile, the feeling back second nature to Sora.

Riku lightly dipped his tongue between his lips and ran it along the curve of Sora's bottom appendage. The brunet gasped at the shiver-producing sensation, but did nothing to prevent it. Sora caught on seconds later and parted his lips, wondering if he was doing any of this right.

Riku smirked into the kiss and circled Sora's tongue with his own, his body heating from the skin-to-skin, deep kissing.

Somehow, Riku ended up having Sora pinned against the lockers, his shoulder blades pressed tightly against the metal wall. Sora mewed pleasurably into the kiss, greedily stealing every single kiss that Riku had to offer. The brunet's hands, in return, threaded through Riku's drying hair as his hips lightly arched forward, sending a wave of intense ecstasy through Sora and Riku.

Riku broke the kiss and breathed heavily before latching his lips onto Sora's neck. The brunet gasped loudly. "R-riku?" Sora asked nervously, arching his neck in offering to his best friend. His knees felt weak as Riku kissed up and down his neck, making him feel quite faint.

"You kissed back," Riku pointed out, lips meshing repeatedly against Sora's tanned neck.

"Mhmmm…" Sora replied absentmindedly, gasping occasionally as his eyes slipped shut.

"Better than Kairi's kiss?" Riku wondered, allowing his teeth to lightly graze the area on Sora's neck.

"Gods…yeah," Sora replied in a heated whisper, panting from the simple actions.

Riku broke away completely after another five minutes, figuring that going on any farther would be dangerous in such a place. The silver-haired male pulled away, admiring the marks along Sora's neck and the obvious bulge in his friend's swimming trunks.

Sora shyly looked away, licking at his lips, appearing quite flustered. "When I said… I'd never date my best friend… I meant Kairi… I didn't want you to know I was like this…"

"I know," Riku answered as he pressed a final kiss to Sora's lips before making his way over to his locker. "You don't have to explain."

"Do we have to tell Kairi?" Sora asked nervously, his breathing slowly regulating.

"Nope," Riku said. "Not right away."

"Okay, good," Sora said and passed over to where Riku stood, rummaging through his gym locker. Sora smiled and wrapped his arms around Riku from behind, resting his cheek against Riku's warm back. "I love fall so much."

"So do I, Sora. So do I."

_**the end**_


End file.
